Just incase it was somethin daft like the heatshield or something I had that on mine spent ages trying to figure out where it was coming from and found that the heat sheild for the exhaust had rusted where it joined to the car and came loose

Took it down to a trusted garage for him to listen and it's definitely the DMF. He will get me some prices to replace the whole lot but said it wouldn't be £1000. Well that's a tiny glimmer of hope. He said if I drove it too long it wear somethingorother on the gearbox but it will take us months to save up the money so I guess I'll only have to use it when absolutely necessary. We seem to be back to the same position we were in a few months ago when the last car broke and we were saving for a new one. but that's a pitfall of having to drive a 10 year old car.

Having just been through this problem with the Focus I know exactly what you mean. Hopefully I can keep the Focus till all my house refurbing projects are done, then get shot of both the old cars and buy a new one.

As a matter of interest. Honest John at the Daily Telegraph reckons that the next generation of cars will only be good for 7 years, after that the repairs will cost more than the cars worth. I suspect this will put motoring beyond the pocket of many people.

Probably a bid to get people out of their cars and on to awful public transport.

We paid £1500 for the car and that was really more than we could afford, I knocked him down from £1700 and thought we'd be ok for a while because it had a full service history. We had to sell our 2001 Vectra for a few hundred because the head gasket went and it would have cost more than the car was worth for a new engine. If the head gasket hadn't gone it would have been something else by now. My husband is complaining bitterly about it needing a new clutch already but it's 10 years old and was bound to need something done to it within a few months. I work from home and rarely go out of Reading which keeps the mileage down. If I had to commute to work it would probably be worse, but that's my optimistic view and he's a pessimist.

Sometimes I think that a smaller petrol car of around the 1300cc mark is the better bet when you are on a budget. We had 2002 Toyota petrol Yaris from new, and it was superb. My wife hit a new Mercedes and it was written off at 9 years old, but in the time we had it, all it only was needed servicing,brakes and tyres. It never even needed a new bulb in its lamps and it still had the original battery.

The replacement petrol Yaris ( 2010 optimal drive) does a few miles less MPG (about 47 on a run) than the Focus Diesel but its smooth and quiet and goes well down the motorways. Our Border Collie is also happy on the back seat when we drive to Cornwall.

I have two male Weimaraners and will always have an estate. When we got our first we had a Ford Cougar which I really liked and Enzo travelled on the back seat, but the hair got everywhere and he kept tangling himself up in the seatbelt and harness. Now he's 10 and has arthritis, he needs a bit of comfort, although would be happy for his younger brother to travel on the back seat and for him to have the boot to himself. I don't think I could put up with the barking right in my ear, either. At least if they're in the boot it's a bit further away!

They certainly do differ in quality. The people who did mine insist on fitting the same manufacturer as was originally used by Ford. They also refuse to fit the solid type replacement flywheels, as they feel that customers will only come back and complain.

I also doubt the garage would be very happy about you sourcing your own bits for them to fit. I think eBay bits are ok if you can do the job yourself at home and can take the risk, or if you are getting shot of the vehicle quickly.

Best price from my trusted garage is £600 + VAT, so that's alot better than the £900/£1000 I've been told before. He said he does alot of them and can do them quite quickly. I'm a little happier now, but still have to raise £700 and can't drive it too much because it could affect the starter motor and gearbox.